|
Freddy
Fender
Chinook
Winds Casino, 1777 NW 44th St., Lincoln City, (888) MAIN-ACT
7 pm Saturday,
June 10
$20-$25
In 1990, Fender
formed the Grammy-winning Texas Tornados with Doug Sahm,
Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez.
His electric
guitar brand of choice inspired Baldemar Huerta's stage
name.
The first real sign that you're getting older is when you
begin to rummage through your parents' and grandparents'
record collections, staking claims to albums you hated in
your youth.
My own ever-encroaching "maturity" became painfully obvious
when, in the search of salve to help me through my latest
case of heartbreak, I found myself seeking comfort from
an artist I used to loathe, Freddy Fender. The bane of my
existence a quarter of a century ago, The Best of Freddy
Fender--a constant on my grandmother's 8-track--now
occupies an all-star slot in my disc player.
Anyone who has ever known the pain of losing the one they
love to a Nordstrom shoe salesman can relate to "Before
the Next Teardrop Falls," Fender's 1975 hit that made No.
1 on both the country and pop charts. Sounding like a mariachi
Jackie Wilson, Fender offers comfort to a former lover if
she ever, y'know, gets jilted by her new flame. "Next Teardrop"
is the official anthem for all the pathetic fools who secretly
believe their lovers will someday return to their open arms.
Later in 1975, Fender hit No. 1 a second time with his
other big hit, "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." The slow,
bluesy rockabilly number, infused with a dash of salsa,
rings perfectly once the groundless hope of "Next Teardrop"
has given way to harsh reality. Written by Fender in the
'50s, "Wasted Days" was recorded two decades earlier under
his real name, Baldemar Huerta.
Born to migrant workers in San Benito, Texas, in 1937,
Huerta dropped out of high school at age 16, did a three-year
tour of duty in the Marines and eventually started playing
honkytonks, performing mostly in Spanish. He made several
records, including Spanish versions of Elvis' "Don't be
Cruel" and Harry Belafonte's "Jamaica Farewell," before
adopting the stage name Freddy Fender in 1959.
With a more gringo-friendly name, and having fused his
Tex-Mex roots with the popular rockabilly sounds of the
day, Fender saw his burgeoning career interrupted when he
was busted in Baton Rouge for possession of marijuana. Louisiana
authorities felt a three-year stretch in Angola was in order.
Although he's considered a C&W singer, Fender's sound
is more Tex-Mex, drawing an obvious influence from '50s
rock and roll. Fender's No. 1 hit of 1976, "You'll Lose
a Good Thing," a reworking of Barbara Lynn's '62 pop smash,
is shrouded in more Wilson-inspired vocals. His haunting
cover of "Secret Love"--which also went to No. 1--adds the
slightest touch of Fender's Latin roots to the Doris Day
classic. Legendary rockers like Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl
Perkins can be heard in "Sugar Coated Love," a rousing rockabilly
honkytonk classic.
With age does not necessarily come wisdom, but with luck
the years should bring a bit of appreciation for better
music. Freddy Fender was once the butt of many of my youthful
jokes--now he's my compañero in broken-hearted misery.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Willamette Week | originally
published April 26,
2000
|
